Nov 30, 2014 | Craig McLaren | 368 views
HAWKS Downed by Hamilton
In a game that saw the HAWKS totally dominate Hamilton in the first period they ended up falling short. The aggression shift in and shift out in the first period was just not there in the 2nd and 3rd periods and the HAWKS dropped a 4-1 decision to a team from Hamilton that just wouldn't quit.
"In my opinion the first period today was one of the best periods of hockey I have seen this team play" indicated a stunned Coach Craig. "We smothered that team in their end almost the entire period. We outshot them 8-0 in the first period. Hamilton couldn't get anything going and for the most part, if they did get a bit of breathing room, our boys were quick to shut it down. As a coach I was VERY pleased. We talk about getting 2 players on the puck in the offensive zone and the boys carried out the game plan to a 'T.' In the second and third periods I really can't explain why our boys decided to shift from what made us so successful in the first period. Our forwards stopped moving their feet, they sat back, watched and waited for Hamilton to bring the play to them...in the first they brought the play to Hamilton. We saw the gap widen by our d-men allowing the Hamilton forwards more time and more speed to attack our zone. In the first period we played hard as a team and in the second and third we started to play as individuals. Am I upset? I'm frustrated BUT the way we played in the first period was not a fluke. It's my job as a coach or our job as a staff to get our boys to play 3 periods the way they did in the first. We need ALL of the boys to play as a team. We saw tonight what can happen when they play together and we also saw tonight what will happen if or when they decide to play as individuals or not stick to the game plan."
With a big week coming up the Staff will look to have a good up tempo practice on Tuesday leading into 3 huge games on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully the boys understand and realize that they have what it takes to be a strong hockey team. Once they do understand that the rest of the Alliance could be in a bit of trouble!!
(HSN...from the HAWKS nest)